Rihanna thrilled to receive footwear design award

Rihanna has expressed her pride at being honored with the Shoe of the Year award.

The Work singer received the prestigious accolade at the 30th annual Footwear News Achievement Awards in New York on Tuesday night (29Nov16) for her Fenty Puma Creepers.

She's the first woman to be honored with the prize, with previous recipients including rapper Kanye West, for his Yeezy Boost 350 design.

Accordingly, during her acceptance speech Rihanna, 28, made sure to tell the crowd how much the honor means to her.

"Thank you guys, thank you so much - this is such a big deal for me. It means so much, it makes me so proud to be a woman, to be a young woman from Barbados," she shared, appearing overwhelmed by the prize.

"I wanted this shoe to be a part of the fancy brand, I wanted it to be the first thing that people saw because it was what I was into at the time. I didn't really expect people to love it the way that I do and the way they support it, it means so much to me and to be receiving this award tonight (is dedicated to) all the Creeper fans and all the kids in the street who inspire me by doing things their own way."

Another winner on the night was actress-and-singer Zendaya, who took home the Launch of the Year award for her namesake footwear line Daya by Zendaya. Speaking ahead of the prize-giving the 20-year-old star explained that she's always been "obsessed" with high heels, despite her mother never favouring them.

"She’s 6ft4in and was always self-conscious about wearing heels, but I was obsessed with them," Zendaya explained. "So I would go to my grandma’s closet and try on her shoes, no matter how big they were, and walk around everywhere."